Douglas County, Colorado
]] Douglas County is the eighth most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado, in the United States. The county is located midway between Colorado's two largest cities: Denver and Colorado Springs. The United States Census Bureau that the county population was 285,465 in 2010 census, a 62.4% increase since the 2000 census, making Douglas County one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. Douglas County is part of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area. The county seat is Castle Rock, named after a prominent castle tower-shaped butte just north of the town. Douglas County is lightly wooded, mostly with ponderosa pine, with broken terrain characterized by mesas and small streams. Cherry Creek and Plum Creek rise in Douglas County and flow north toward Denver and into the South Platte River. Both were subject to flash flooding in the past, Plum Creek being partially responsible for the Denver flood of 1965. Cherry Creek is now dammed. Most residents commute to workplaces elsewhere in the metropolitan area outside of the county. Suburban development is displacing the ranching economy of the county. History Douglas County was one of the original 17 counties created in the Colorado Territory by the Colorado Territorial Legislature on November 1, 1861. The county was named in honor of U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, who died five months before the county was created. The county seat was originally Franktown, but was moved to California Ranch in 1863, and then to Castle Rock in 1874. Although the county's boundaries originally extended eastward to the Kansas state border, in 1874 most of the eastern portion of the county became part of Elbert County. Geography According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of , of which (or 99.69%) is land and (or 0.31%) is water. Adjacent Counties *Jefferson County, Colorado - west *Arapahoe County, Colorado - north *Elbert County, Colorado - east *El Paso County, Colorado - southeast *Teller County, Colorado - south Douglas County has a comprehensive library system with a large local history section, the Douglas County History Research Center, at http://www.douglascountyhistory.org Cities and towns *Aurora (partially) *Castle Pines North *Castle Rock *Larkspur *Littleton (partially) *Lone Tree *Parker Census-designated places *Acres Green *Carriage Club *Castle Pines (includes most of Castle Pines North) *Cottonwood *Franktown *Grand View Estates *Heritage Hills *Highlands Ranch *Louviers *Meridian *Perry Park *Roxborough Park *Sedalia *Stonegate *The Pinery *Westcreek Other places *Castle Pines Village *Dakan *Deckers *Greenland Parks and recreational areas Three state parks fall within Douglas County, Castlewood Canyon State Park, Chatfield State Park and Roxborough State Park. Parts of the county lie within the Pike National Forest and were crossed by the historic South Platte Trail. Recreation trails in the county include: *American Discovery Trail *Colorado Trail *Devils Head National Recreation Trail *Highline Canal National Recreation Trail *Platte River Greenway National Recreation Trail *Ridgeline Open Space Trail Recognition Douglas County has been recognized by a number of national periodicals: * Money magazine ranked Douglas County No. 5 in the United States for “Job Growth over the Last Eight Years”. (Towns include Castle Rock, Parker, Stonegate, Lone Tree, and Highlands Ranch), 18 August 2009 * American City Business Journals (ACBJ) ranked Douglas County No. 4 in the nation for “Quality of Life,” May 2004 *[http://www.schooldigger.com/ SchoolDigger.com] ranked Douglas County School District No.1 in the Denver Metropolitan Area and No.12 in Colorado based on 2009 test scores. (School district rankings were determined by averaging the rankings of individual schools within each of the 122 districts evaluated). Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education, and Colorado Department of Education. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 175,766 people, 60,924 households, and 49,835 families residing in the county. The population density was 209 people per square mile (81/km²). There were 63,333 housing units at an average density of 75 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.77% White, 0.95% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 2.51% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. 5.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 60,924 households out of which 47.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.8% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 13.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.19. In the county the population was spread out with 31.6% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 37.9% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males. The median income for a household in the county was $82,929, and the median income for a family was $88,482 (these figures had risen to $93,819 and $102,767 respectively as of a 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $60,729 versus $38,965 for females. The per capita income for the county was $34,848. About 1.6% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over. Douglas County had the highest median household income of any Colorado county or statistical equivalent in 2000. In 2008, it ranked #8 in the United States in that category - it was one of two in the top 15 not in the vicinity of New York or Washington. Education Douglas County is served by Douglas County School District RE-1, the third-largest school district in Colorado. In addition to traditional neighborhood schools, the district includes six charter schools, four option schools and an online school . Schools are rated generally high in the area. The University Center at Chaparral in Parker offers courses through Arapahoe Community College, University of Colorado Denver, University College of the University of Denver, and the Douglas County School District. See also *Colorado census statistical areas *Colorado counties *Colorado metropolitan areas *Colorado municipalities *Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area *Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area *Front Range Urban Corridor *National Register of Historic Places listings in Douglas County, Colorado References External links *Douglas County website Douglas County Website *Douglas County School Information Douglas County Schools *Douglas County Sheriff Department website *YourHub.com/DouglasCounty *Colorado Historical Society Colorado Historical Society *Colorado County Evolution by Don Stanwyck *Douglas County Library Douglas County Library *Our Douglas County Colorado News and Events Category:counties of Colorado Category:Douglas County, Colorado Category:established in 1861